Just Label It, News Roundup 10-20

This week a new analysis raised questions about GMO pesticides, describing them as “super toxins.” A Cornell University study shows glyphosate damages soil-friendly bacteria. Attorneys and activists have accused Monsanto of manipulating the science on glyphosate’s health impacts. Documents revealed in the federal case also suggest a cozy relationship between the company and regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA continued to side with chemical corporations this week, as it approved the continued use of dicamba. Farmers planted about 20 million acres of dicamba-tolerant soybeans this year, and that number is expected to double next year thanks to an EPA approval announced this week.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it will let farmers keep spraying the weed-killing chemical dicamba on Monsanto’s new dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. The decision is a victory for the biotech giant and the farmers who want to use the company’s newest weed killing technology. Farmers planted about 20 million acres of dicamba-tolerant soybeans this year and that number is expected to double next year.

GMO pesticide developers claim they made “super toxins”. This review describes numerous differences between naturally occurring and GM Bt proteins. Some are intentionally introduced but others are inadvertent in origin. The authors of the analysis additionally conclude that references to any GMO Bt toxins being “natural” are incorrect and scientifically unsupportable.

A new study shows that commercial GMO Bt toxins differ greatly from their natural precursors. These differences are important. They typically cause GMO Bt proteins to be more toxic. Worse, they also cause them to be active against many more species than natural forms of Bt toxins.

Attorneys and activists have accused Monsanto of manipulating the science around glyphosate’s health impacts—in essence, of following the playbook written by Big Tobacco. Documents revealed in the federal case also suggest a cozy relationship between the company and regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency, which is currently reviewing glyphosate’s safety. Monsanto became one of the world’s most powerful agriculture corporations. Today, over 90 percent of domestic soy, corn, and cotton crops are genetically engineered to be glyphosate-resistant, accounting for more than 168 million acres.